VPA Open Houses
Join us for a College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Open House!
Thank you for your interest in Visual and Performing Arts at Kutztown University. We would like to invite you to attend the VPA Open House on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. At the open house you will receive more information about majors in visual and performing arts, the VPA College and Kutztown University. The day will include an overview from Admissions, information sessions about VPA majors and coursework, building tours, and you will be able to sit-in on classes in the different majors. You will also be able to sign-up for music auditions and portfolio reviews if required for your chosen major.
Registration for the Spring open house will being on Monday, January 20, 2025
VPA Majors
Animated Arts is the newest and fastest-growing visual art program at Kutztown University. Here, students work with the latest technology across a range of visual fields—2D and 3D Animation, Concept Art and Storyboarding, and 3D Digital Modeling and Rendering —becoming leaders in visual innovation for all types of media production, from film to television to video games.
The Art History major prepares students for careers in museums, galleries, historic sites, arts organizations, and various academic pursuits. Students explore social and cultural history through the lens of the visual arts, reaching from the prehistoric to the global contemporary.
Kutztown University’s Communication Design (KUCD) program is a community of designers who are passionate about what they create. We empower you to solve problems, communicate visually, and evoke meaningful change—all through dynamic visual expression. As juniors, CD students learn all aspects of design as required by the industry: Graphic Design, Advertising Design, Interactive Design, and Illustration.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art exposes students to a variety of approaches and media ranging from traditional to digital. Following a foundational year studying drawing, design, and art history, students explore a broad scope of artistic practices before concentrating in their chosen medium. Art specializations include ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles.
As an Art Education major, you’ll receive training in a wide range of studio processes, obtain a solid art history foundation, and learn and grow as an educator. The program concludes with a clinical student teaching experience in an elementary, middle, or high school. Students have the option to teach in a variety of settings, including rural, suburban and urban locations in eastern Pennsylvania.
A Bachelor of Science in Art Education - Alternative Settings prepares you for careers in museum settings, settings for health and well-being (e.g. art therapy) and community arts organizations. This includes serving programs at art museums, anthropology museums, children’s museums, community arts centers, family support agencies, hospitals, parks & recreation departments, private studios, and plenty of other settings.
Strong communication is at the root of every successful company, and our communication major will teach you the skills to succeed anywhere. We believe that doing is succeeding. From day one, you will learn professional skills that employers value the most: problem solving, speaking, writing, critical thinking, analysis and so much more. As a communication major, you can take your degree a step further by choosing among the following concentrations:
- Interpersonal Communication
- Media Studies
- Rhetoric & Civic Engagement
- Strategic Communication
- Performance & Culture
KU’s B.S. in Social Media Theory & Strategy (SMS) is a one-of-a-kind program combining Business, English, and Communication Studies. The SMS program was developed with the Social Media Analytics Strategic Hub (SMASH); a unique, innovative, collaborative effort with access to software and technology only available at select research institutions in the U.S.
Bring your creative vision to life with our all-in-one film, television and media production major from Kutztown University. In this major, gain real film experience with the latest production tools; access our on-campus multi set television studio; produce live events from the KU remote production trailer; and work with award-winning film professors.
Whether you like making music or listening to it, you can customize your program and earn a degree that lets you pursue your passion as a career. You can choose your specialization from among many areas: Music Performance, Music Composition, Music Technology, and more.
A track in Commercial Music Studies will prepare students who wish to pursue careers in recording studios, arts administration, performance of popular music, and other positions in the music industry. The program is comprised of a combination of mentoring from renowned artists/teachers, small class sizes, diverse commercial performance opportunities, and a well-rounded academic curriculum.
The KU Music Performance emphasis is designed for students with an interest in performing, conducting, writing or teaching music outside of the public schools. The Music major with an emphasis in Music Performance provides preparation for students aspiring to take their place on the stage, to teach in private or community music settings, or to work collaboratively in the vast field of the performing arts.
This National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accredited program serves teacher candidates who wish to be certified in instrumental, choral, and general music in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in Pennsylvania. This certification is also accepted as initial certification in many other states. The Music Education major at Kutztown combines the studies of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the College of Education.
The BA in Music with a track in Music Business provides practical experiences and exploration of career opportunities in the music entertainment industry through classroom study that includes technical instruction and hands-on experience. Required courses help students systematically acquire fundamental musical skills by studying basic concepts of music, learning theory through playing and singing, and becoming confident as a singer or instrumentalist in a group.